Marisa Handler—writer, singer-songwriter, teacher, and coach—is the author of the memoir Loyal to the Sky, which won a Nautilus Gold Award for world-changing books. Her essays, fiction, journalism and poetry have appeared in The Sun, Orion, Salon.com, Witness, Kosmos, Tikkun, 580 Split, and other publications. Marisa earned her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has received numerous fellowships in Creative Writing, including a Fulbright and an Elizabeth George Foundation grant. Her poem “The Vanishing” won the Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize and was nominated for a Pushcart. She has taught Creative Writing at a range of places, including Mills College and Stanford University, and workshops on creativity, transformation, and meditation at Esalen, Spirit Rock, and the California Institute for Integral Studies. She also works one-on-one as a Writing Coach and a Personal Transformation Coach. Marisa has practiced Insight Meditation in retreats and daily life since 2002, and is also a committed practitioner of Byron Katie’s The Work, Authentic Movement, and Biodanza. She is currently at work on a novel. More at www.marisahandler.com.